External counterweight for car dumpers



June 30, 1931. w. E. ERICKSON 1,312,040

v EXTERNAL COUNTERWEIGHT FORUAR DUMPERS Filed Jan. 8, 192;"! 5SheetsSheet 1 Z/EZiard Z [2764 5011 I F y I fizz/0150;"

June 30, 1931. w. E. ERICKSON 1,812,040

EXTERNAL COUNTERWEIG HT FOR CAR DUMPERS Filed Jan. 8, 1927 3Sheets-Sheet 2" g,

E: q l

June 30," 1-931. w. E. ERICKSON 1,

E XTERNAL COUNTERWEIGHT FOR CAR DUMPERS Filed Jan. 8. 1927 s Sheets-Shets Patented Juneiao, 1931 UNITED: STATES. ;;iPAT N T-j;QFFIcE WILLARD E.ERICKSON, oFcHIcAGo, iLtiivorsyassre-lvon T LINK-BELT COMPANY, orcine-Ase, immerse CORPORATION or rumors Ex'rERNAL coUN'rEn EIsH'r ironCAR nUMPEns-Y Application filed; January 8, 1927. Serial no. 159,802

w tion, all said counterweights being removed from the cradle so thatthe cradle may be of lighter and simpler construction. Another object ofmy invention is to provide a rotary car dumpingcradle wherein the carmay be rotated about a. longitudinal axis passing I through the car andheldvin placefonr the car by counterweights which are not mounted on thecradle. 'Another object is to provide a car dumper wherein the car isgiven arotary so movement for dumpingwithout any lateralv movement andwherein the car ishel'd in place by clamps which-control by clampcounterweights supported on .the main structure and not on the cradleOther 'ob-.

. jects will appear from time to time throughout tl1e. specification=and claims. I Myinventionis illustrated; more. or less diagrammaticallyin the"accon1panying drawings, wherein' a V Figure 1 is a crosssectionthroughthe'apparatus. i i 'Figure 2 isa side elevation of the right handside as viewed in Figure 1; Figu e'. is a viewsimilar to Figural showingparts in dumping position; a

Figuref is' a-section along thejllnltlr i Figurel. v V i 1 Like partsare indicated byl'ike characters throughout the specification anddrawings.

-49 A is a supporting structure includingva I hopper A a counterweight'frame, A

cradles supportingrollersAi a. cradle made up of roller rings A, girdersA A, a'floor 1 beam A, a driving; cable A wound about one. of the ringsA anda driving drum-Aiwhere by the cradle may be rotated. l 5

B is a transfer t ble mounted on a plural ity of rollers B B on thesupporting frame A." being adapted to have a slight transverse 1. incemen i t e cradle, 13 B? smear tion shown inthe drawingsifor dumping andon the lifting counter weight' G and thence back to the top of'thecounterweight frame tracks'on the transfer'table and B is a car on thetracks. This caris adapted to be run V onto the transfer table when-thecradle is in the upright position, the transfer table beingcentered inthecra'dleby' any suitablemeans not; here shown as they form no vpartofmy present invention. Thefcradle is rotated in V a counterclockwisedirection from the posiis returned in a clockwise direction to the 6Qposition shown in the drawin g sfafter the cai'l is dumped. During suchmovement the car, preferably has at the, beginning of the dump ingmovement, a slight movement to the left sothat thecar will. engage theabutment B before the car clampsgo into operation.

' B is a car clamp held at the top of its excursion away fromthecar'untilthe clump-U ing movement starts. This car clamp is mountedfor vertical movement in the. era: dletoward and from the top 0f the carand it isnecessary toprovidemeans for controlling-this clamp, lifting itaway from the car as-the cradleapproaches the upright .Posi tion andlowering it to the car as the cradle starts toward the dumping position.i

C is the clamp lowering cable. It is-dead ended on the clamp base upover a sheave f C at the top of the cradle, extends thence laterallyacross'the cradle to a sheave C2, thence dOWIl '21l)O1lt a sheave C?toward the bottom of the cradle and then out over a sheave ctgon thecounterweight frame YA?- This cable extends down around a sheave C5where it is dead ended at C 'll1e lift ing Y counterweight is mounted toslide vertically in the counterweight frame. In the position there shownit is held against a stop C? 99 'which limitssits upward movement.

thecradle is rotated from the position showni'in Figure 11in a counter Iclockwise die rection, the distance between the sheaves .G?

aand Q 'iwill decrease, The -weight, of the 9g clamp is greater than.the. weight of the lift; I ing counterweight C and the lifting eamen.weight will remain in contact with thes top Cuntil the slack in thecable between the Sheaves 0 aud t? hasbcen paid out enough 9 to permitthe clamp to travel down to rest against the top of the car. Furtherrotary movement of the cradle will then result in allowing the liftingcounterweight to travel downward in its path away from the stop therebykeeping a tension on the cable C. After the car is dumped the cradlewill return toward its upright position raising the clamp counterweightwithout lifting the clamps from the car until the clamp counterweightengages the stop. When the counterweight engages the stop furthermovement of the cradle will exert a sufiicient tension on the cable tolift the clamps away from the car and permit the car to run oft thecradle and its place be taken by another.

I) is the clamp holding rope. It is dead ended at one side. of thecradle at a point below the top of the lowest car. It extends up over asheave D on the clamp B thence across the clamp to a second sheave Dthence down over a third sheave D approximately opposite to the endwhere the cable is dead ended so that the clamp is held between thebight end of the cable between the dead end oint and the sheave D. Fromthe sheave 3 the cable extends over a sheave D on the cradle frame andthence to a sheave ID at the top of the counterweight frame. From hereit extends down around a sheave D on the lowering counterweight D andthence up to the top of the counterweight frame where it is dead ended.The lowering counterweight D is free to move vertically in thecounterweight frame. It is associated with a holding counterweight Dalso free to move vertically in the counterweight frame, the relationbetween the two counterweights being such that the loweringcounterweight has a certain degree of freedom of movement withoutpicking up the holding counterweight.

With the parts in the position shown in Figure 1, the loweringcounterweight is suspended by the holding rope. The holdingcounterweight is resting at the bottom of its excursion. When the cardumper cradle rotates in a counter clockwise direction, it will tend toincrease the distance between the sheaves D and D and therefore pull outon the cable D. This will pull down on the clamp B and since at the sametimethe clamp lowering cable C is paid out, this tension on the rope Dexerted by the lowering counterweight D will insure that the clamp willbe drawn down on the car. As the. distance between the sheaves D and Dis increased after the clamp has settled down on the car, the loweringcounterweight will be raised to a point where it picks up the holdingcounterweight, then further rotation of the cradle will cause both thelowering and the clamp holding counterweight to be raised in bight ofthe cable between the dead end on the counterweight frame and thesheave'D s0 that the two counterweights are available to hold the weightof the car as the cradle rotates the car into the upside down or dumpingposition.

Reverse movement of the cradle of course tends to lower thesecounterweights and as the car comes back into the upright position onthe cradle the holding counterweight will be settled down to the bottomend of its excursion and the lowering counterweight will then traveldown after the holding counterweight has been released and will hangsomewhere between a position where it would rest on the framework and aposition where it would pick up the holding counterweight exerting atension in the cable I) such that when the lowering cable is paid outthe clamps will be positively drawn down by such tension against thecar.

It will be noted that the clamp comprises a slide H traveling along thevertical member H The cable C engages this slide. This slide has a carengaging shoulder H pivoted on it is the clamp body 13, which at itsother end has a car engaging shoulder H The slide H has a stirrup Hadapted to be engaged by the inner end of the clamp B to limit itsdownward movement, the arrangement being such that the shoulder H isappreciably lower than the shoulder H when in the inoperative position.As the clamp is lowered, the shoulder H first engages the car, then theslide goes on down the clamp B rotating with respect to the slide untilthe shoulder H rests on the car. From then on the clamp is at rest. Inthe reverse movement as the clamp is raised the slide I-I first comesup, the shoulder H remaining in contact until further rotation of theclamp bar with respect to the slide H is stopped, when the clamp travelson away from the car. Thus with the clamp guide at only one end there isno possibility of binding or locking of the. parts.

It will be noted that the cradle is built up of a lattice structure withtwo roller rings one located at either end. This structure isconventional and there may be two or more clamps as the case may be.Each clamp preferably being associated with its separate set ofcounterweights as indicated.

I claim:

1. A clamp for cardumpers and the like comprising a vertical. track, acarriage adapted to slide vertically therealong having a car engagingshoulder, a clamp beam pivoted on the carriage extending across the carand having a shoulder adapted to engage the opposed side of the car,positive means for limiting the rotary movement of the clamp beam withrespect to the sliding carriage to permit the car engaging shoulder onthe end of the beam when in the inoperative position to occupy aposition below the car engaging shoulder on the carriage, means forraising 7 comprising a cable and sheaves over which the remain andlowering the clamp connected directly to the carriage and means forlocking the clamp cable travels one on the end of the beam, the other onthe carriage. I

2. In a car dumper, a cradle, a car holding clamp, means for rotatingthecradle about a longitudinal axis passing therethrough a plurality ofcounterweights, cables between said counterweights and the clamp andsheaves on the cradle over which the cables travel whereby one of thecounterweights raises the clamp, another counterweight lowers the clampand a third counterweight holds the clamp in-lowered position andsupports the weight of the car when the car is being dumped, all theelements forming the com-' pound counterweight being so related and sosupported by the cable that the tension available to hold the clampsin'seated position when the counterweight parts are all in operation isthe total sum of all the counterweight elements. v I V 3. In a cardumper, a cradle, acar holding clamp, means for rotating the cradleabout a longitudinal axis passing therethrough, a pluralityof'counterweights, cables between said counterweights and the clamp andsheaves on the cradle over which the cables travel whereby one of thecounterweights raises the clamp, another counterweight lowers the clampand athird counterweight holds the clamp in lowered position andsupports the weight of the car when the car is being dumped, the clamplowering counterweight and the clamp holding counterweight beinginter-related sothat the weight of both is sus. pended and cooperates tohold the car in posi tion when it is being dumped, all the elementsforming the compound counterweight being so related and so supported bythe cable that the tension available to hold the clamps in seatedposition when thecounterweight parts are all in operation is the totalsum of all the counterweight elements.

4. In a car dumper the combination with a rotary cradle and acar'holding clamp ther'eon,'of a lifting counterweight removed from thecradle, a lifting cable between the counterweight and the clamp and apositive stop in the path of the counterweight whereby rotation of thecradle into the upright position brings thecounterweight 'intoengagement with the stop and'positively raises the clamp out of contactwith the bar the counterweight itself being the sole clamp lift.- ingelement. V i

5. In a car dumper the combination with a rotary cradle and a carholding clamp thereon, of a lifting counterweight removed from thecradle, a lifting cable between the counterweight and the clamp and apositive stop in the path of the counterweight whereby rotation of thecradle into the upright position brings the counterweight intoengagement with the-stop nd: positively raises the clamp out Jet contactwithth ear, the

counterweight being freely suspended weight into engag'ement withthestop and positively raises the clamp out of contact with the car, thecounterweight itself beingithe sole clamp lifting element. Q 1 I 1-. In:a car; dumper the combination with a rotary cradle and a car holdingclamp there; on, of. a lifting counterweight" a li ftingccable "betweenthe counterweight and" the: clamp and apositive stop in the path of thec'ounter weight whereby rotationof the cradle into the upright positionbrings theicounterweight I into engagement with the stopand positivelyraises the clamp out of contact with the car,

the counterweight being. freely suspended i from the cable to maintain:tension'th'erein While the cradle moves from the uprighttoiward thedumpinglposition' and returngithe. counterweight itself being the soleclamp liftingelementg 8.5In a du arotary cradle and ca'r holding;clampthere on of a compound counterweight comprising clamp lowering andclamp holding elementsremoved from the cradle, a holding, cable betweenthe counterweight and the clamp,.

per 1 the combination "with sheaves on the cradle and the counterweightI I support so positioned that rotation of the, cradle toward thedumping position increases the distancebetween them to raise the clamplowering counterweight-element to lower the clamp;theclampholdingelement being inter; posed in the 1 path of the damp loweringele'- rn'ent whereby further irotation of the cradle after the clamp hasseatedsuspends the'holding element on the cable to exert acarholdingte'nsion on the cable; 7 i

9. In a car d-uinper the combination with azrotarycradle 'and carholding clamp thereon' of a compound counterweight "comprising clamplowering and clamp holding elements, a holding-table between, theeounterweight and the clamp, sheaves on the cradle and the counterweightsupport so positioned that, ro-

tation of the cradle toward the dumping position increases the distancebetween them to raise the clamp lowering counterweight element to lowerthe clamp, the 'clamphold- .ing element being interposed in the ath ofthe clamp lowering element where y further rotation of the cradleafterthe clamp has seated suspends the holding element on the cable toexert a car holding tension on the cable. V 10. In a car dumper thecombination with 5 a rotary cradle and a car holding clamp thereon of alifting counterweight and a compound clamp lowering and holding counter-Weight removed from the cradle, a cable between the liftingcounterweight and the clamp and a positive stop in the path of thelifting counterweight whereby rotation of the cradle into the uprightposition brings the counterweight into engagement with the stop andpositively raises the clamp out of contact with the car, a holding cablebetween the clamp and the compound counterweight, sheaves on the cradleand the counterweight support so positioned that rotation of the cradletoward the dumping position increases the distance between them to raisethe clamp lowering counterweight element to lower the clamp, all theelements forming the compound counterweight being so related and sosupported by the cable that the tension available to hold the clamps inseated position when the counterweight parts are all in operation is thetotal sum of all the counterweight elements.

11. In a car dumper the combination with a rotary cradle and a carholding clamp thereon of a lifting counterweight and a compound clamplowering and holding counterweight removed from the cradle, a cablebetween the lifting counterweight and the clamp and a positive stop inthe path of the lifting counterweight whereby rotation of the cradleinto the upright position brings the counterweight into engagement withthe stop and positively raises the clamp out of contact with the car, aholding cable between the clamp and the compound counterweight, sheaveson the cradle and the counterweight support so positioned that rotationof the cradle toward the dumping position in creases the distancebetween them to raise the clamp lowering counterweight element to lowerthe clamp, the clamp holding element being interposed in the path of theclamp lowering element whereby further rotation of the cradle after theclamp has seated suspends the holding element on the cable to exert acar holding tension on the cable.

Signed at Chicago, county of Cook and State of Illinois, this 28th dayof December WILLARD E. ERIGKSON.

